Searching for a delicious and quick pasta dinner? Need to get out of the red sauce rut? Look no further than this luscious meal – simple to prepare, full of flavor and easy to customize to fit your family’s tastes. And although it’s delicious on it’s own, this pasta is also a terrific compliment to chicken, seafood or fish. I topped ours with seared halibut which I had brushed with some of my oregano marinade. Dinner couldn’t have been easier to pull together!

Consider this recipe a template, if your family is not a fan of spinach, you can substitute different greens or even steamed or sauteed broccoli. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

1 (8.8 oz box) Pappardelle

2 tbsp Olive oil

2 tbsp Butter, unsalted

1 Shallot, finely minced

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 (6 oz) bag Baby spinach, stems removed

1 cup Ricotta, whole-milk

¼ cup Parmesan-reggiano, grated, plus more for serving

Instructions

Cook pappardelle according to the package instructions. Not sure how to cook pasta perfectly? Click on this link and follow the step by step instructions. http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/how-to-cook-dried-pasta/

In the meantime, heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Once butter is melted, add the shallot and cook until shallot is lightly browned, 3-5 minutes.

Add the spinach and toss with the shallot mixture for 1-2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the ricotta. Mix the ricotta into the spinach mixture.

Once pasta is finished cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside (I simply scoop a 1 cup measuring cup into the pot and set that aside). Drain the pasta.

Add the pasta to the skillet and toss with the spinach - ricotta sauce.

Grate the Parmesan into the pasta and continue to toss. Portion the pasta onto plates and pass additional Parmesan.

Salad dressings are one of my favorite things to concoct. I love the simplicity of the mason jar, the math of the oil versus acid proportion, and the transformation of a handful of herbs tossed into the food processor. Not only are they great on salads, vinaigrettes are one of the fastest ways to answer the what’s for dinner question – marinate a protein in the yummy dressing you have in the fridge and you are halfway to getting a meal on the table. This vinaigrette is so easy to make, all you need is a handful of pantry ingredients and the secret ingredient – Greek whole milk yogurt.

A terrific kitchen shortcut is a jar of minced garlic in the fridge. I rarely cook with fresh garlic, but in a recipe like this one, fresh garlic is essential because it is such a forward flavor in the dressing. Think beyond a salad - this vinaigrette is also a delicious marinade for seafood and chicken. Envision a grilled chicken Caesar salad...you can easily whisk this dressing but I just throw everything in my food processor. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Lemon, large, zested and juiced

3 tbsp Greek yogurt, whole milk

2 tbsp Mayonnaise (I use Duke's)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup Olive oil

½ tsp Kosher salt

Instructions

Place garlic in a food processor, pulse to mince.

Add remaining ingredients, pulse several times until the dressing in emulsified.

Marinara sauce is one of the easiest things to make, and takes just a few minutes to put together. Toss with pasta, top a pizza…with a jar in the fridge you always have an answer to the “what’s for dinner” question.

I know a lot of marinara recipes call for whole tomatoes that you crush by hand. I like to skip that skip entirely, keep things simple and just buy crushed tomatoes. This recipe makes a big batch that you can store in some repurposed glass jars, remember that tomato sauce stains plastic, so stay away from tuperware for this recipe. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

½ cup Olive oil

12 tsp Garlic, minced

2 tbsp Oregano, dried

1 tsp Kosher salt

4 tbsp Tomato paste

4 (28 oz) Crushed tomatoes

¼ cup Sugar

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the garlic, oregano and kosher salt and cook until garlic begins to brown, 3-5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and continue to cook for 3 more minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes and sugar. Stir well and lower heat to simmer.

Simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, depending on the amount of time you have.

Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 1 week. You can also freeze the sauce for 1 month.

I have never been one for frying meatballs (too messy!), so I am constantly tinkering around with baking meatballs instead. This recipe was inspired by Ina Garten’s new cookbook. I have always baked my meatballs, but usually at a low temperature. I still make meatballs that way from time to time, but I really appreciate the speed with which these meatballs come together. The additional breadcrumbs and higher heat help the meatballs keep their shape and cooks them all the way through…then all you need is a quick simmer in the sauce and dinner is ready!

If your family is anything like mine, everyone has certain foods they like better than others. I thought it would be fun to show you my kid's plates - so take a look and see if your family resembles mine! By the way, this recipe makes a lot of meatballs...which freeze beautifully, so go ahead and put some meatballs in the dinner bank (i.e. freezer). Happy cooking!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make sure oven racks are in the upper and lower positions. Line two sheet pans with aluminum foil.

Place eggs, yogurt and red wine in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.

Add Kosher salt, minced garlic, oregano, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Mix throughly (the reason you want to mix completely before adding the meatloaf mixture is because you never want to overmix the meat - it will toughen the meatballs).

Add the meat mixture to the bowl and gently mix with your hands until all ingredients are combined.

Measure out enough meat mixture to form a 2 inch ball (an ice cream scoop is really helpful here) and place each ball 1 inch apart on the sheet pans.

Transfer sheet pans to the oven, starting one pan on the upper rack and one pan on the lower rack. Your total cooking time with be between 20 - 30 minutes, you will want the meatballs to be lightly browned, After 10 - 12 minutes, switch the positions of your sheet pans so that the meatballs can cook evenly.

Meanwhile, in large pot add the marinara sauce and simmer until heated through.

Serve on top of spaghetti or polenta or even on its own. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Meatball / meatloaf mixture comes in a package that is generally in packages of 1¼ or 1⅓ lbs. So, that’s why I called for a specific pound range, I am figuring on you buying two packages of the meat mix. If you are making meatloaf in the spring or summer, you won’t find the mix in the store. In that situation, I buy ground beef and ground pork (it’s hard to find ground veal so I just skip it). The meatloaf is still fantastic!

3.3.3070

D’s plate: he loves the meatballs and noodles, but he’s not a fan of sauceT’s plate: he LOVES my meatballs (he starts eating them right off the pan) but he’s not a noodle guyR’s plate: this one’s the most balanced, but she really just wants to get to the noodles

I have been making this recipe for years – it’s one of my top 5 most requested client meals – but ironically it’s never been a meal I made for my kids because they one, don’t like marinara sauce smothered over everything (meatballs should have a bare dripping of sauce, that’s it) and two, casseroles, or any dish where the food is all mixed together is like torturing them. I have to face facts and accept that my kids, who are 13, 10 and 7, are not changing anytime soon. So, imagine my surprise, that along with blending our families, I get to cook for older kids that LOVE meals like this.

If you are cooking for a big crowd, and trying to accommodate different tastes, I recommend a tray of manicotti and some meatballs for those picky eaters.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated The Best Make-Ahead Recipe. I highly encourage you to buy any of their books, I love the background information on the science of food (a little nerdy I know) and the recipes are impeccable and always turn out perfectly. After years of tweaking, this recipe is firmly my own, but I never forget where I started. Happy cooking!

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once oil is shimmering, add garlic and oregano and stir, "blooming" the spices for 3-5 minutes. Turn heat to low and mix in all four cans of tomatoes. Stir to combine and let the tomato mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes. Take saucepan off heat, and transfer mixture to a medium sized bowl to allow the mixture to cool more quickly.

Here comes the tricky part, but stay with me. Once you do this one or two times, it becomes so rote and simple to do AND makes all the difference in making amazing manicotti.

Fill a 2 cup Pyrex with water and microwave to boiling, 6-8 minutes. Pour water into 13 inch x 9 inch baking dish. Turning the facet to high, add another 2 cups of hot tap water to the baking dish.

Slowly add the noodles, 10 at a time. You will repeat the water step for the next 10 noodles (we do not want them to get mushy).

Let the noodles soak for 5-8 minutes, until they are pliable. Remove the noodles from the baking dish and place one by one on a clean tea towel.

Prepare 2 baking trays (I use the aluminum ones from Sam's Club that are roughly 10 x 13). Spray with canola spray and cover the bottom of each baking dish with 1 cup of the tomato mixture.

Spoon ¼ cup of the ricotta mixture on each lasagna noodle, starting at the bottom and rolling up tightly. Place each rolled noodle in the prepared baking tray. You should have 2 rows of 5 noodles each.

Cover the tray of noodles with 2 cups of sauce, making sure to cover the noodles completely.

Discard the warm water and start again to assemble the second tray.

Once the second tray is assembled, sprinkle ¼ of a pkge of shredded cheese over each of the two trays of manicotti.

Cooking later: Wrap the dishes tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. If frozen, thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight. Discard plastic wrap and follow all of the instructions listed above.

These meatballs are perfect for warmer weather – they come together quickly, totally different than my long-simmering in red wine version. The turkey keeps them light while the pancetta and sun-dried tomatoes give these meatballs such a special flavor. Best of all, this recipe is a huge hit with kids! My secret? My kids rebel against the “green stuff” in meatballs, aka parsley. My lightbulb moment – serving the parsley on the side! Score one for mom…

This recipe falls into my category of "If I'm getting all these ingredients out I might as well make a lot". I just love having an extra dinner in the fridge or freezer! I made these meatballs, in addition to a huge manicotti for a recent family birthday dinner and everyone loved them! My kids don't like a lot of sauce, if your family does you might want to double the sauce. Of course, any extra sauce can go right into the fridge - another dinner ready to go. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

Meatballs

8 oz Pancetta, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

4 eggs, lightly beaten

8.5 oz jar Sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

1 cup Greek yogurt

1½ cup Grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend (you can also just use Parmesan)

¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 tsp Kosher salt

3 lb Ground turkey

Sauce

28 oz can Crushed tomatoes

28 oz can Petite diced tomatoes

6 tsp Minced garlic

1½ tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp Kosher salt

¼ cup Flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Heat pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until pancetta is crisp and the onion is translucent, 5-10 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl lightly beat the eggs, then add tomatoes, yogurt, cheese, breadcrumbs and Kosher salt. Stir to combine, then add the turkey and mix carefully with your hands. (see note)

Form the turkey mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

Once the meatballs go into the oven, you can get started on the sauce.

In a large saucepan (remember you will be adding the meatballs into the sauce so you need enough room), heat the crushed and diced tomatoes over medium heat. Add garlic, Italian seasoning and Kosher salt. Simmer while meatballs are in the oven.

Once the meatballs are cooked, add them to the sauce and continue to simmer for the flavors to combine, 10-15 minutes. NOT all of the meatballs are going into the saucepan. Depending on how tightly you want to pack them in - I usually have about 10 extra which I keep for the pickier eaters who do not want any sauce.

Notes

Why add the turkey last? You want to throughly mix the ingredients before adding the turkey because you want to treat your ground turkey with care - it keeps them from getting tough. That's why I always add the turkey last and gently mix them with my hands - the same principle as when you make burgers.Once you bake your meatballs you will never go back to frying them - when they come out of the oven you will see they rendered off the fat - making them so much healthier! I bake my ground beef meatballs the same way - I love to get rid of that additional fat.

Welcome to WKC!

Hi, I'm Kate. Thank you for stopping by! I hope you find lots of recipes and tips to make cooking for your family easier and more enjoyable. This picture is of me and my fiance, Jeff, this past New Years. He's my favorite person to cook for because he's always excited to taste a new recipe! Dashiell, Trafford and Ridgely (in front of our Willy Wonka tree at Xmas) will eat almost anything provided it's not mushy or all mixed together. They are always up for trying new flavors from around the world, and like all kids they're brutually honest!

I want to hear from you - recipes you like, dinner challenges you face...let's start a conversation!